Shoe heel



W. l'. LITTMAN oefn 11,1921. Y 1,644,184.

SHOE HEEL Filed July 2&5, '1925 im. laufmffQaatroz new latented Get. ll, 1927.

VIELLIAM. XSE-AEL LETTMN, 0F BROOKLYN, '.l'EVJ YORK.

SHOE HEEL.

Application. filed .Tuly 23, 1925. Serial No. I5,531.

l` his invention relates to shoe heels and has particular refer-ence to heels of the detachable or removable type.

ln the use of a shoe, the thread or tap of the heel which is generally form-ed of leather or rubber. wears both rapidly and unevenly,

thereby requiring premature replacement ofl Y the tap, or in some instances the entire heel. The practice of scraping the tap or complete 1U heel, however, when only a small portion thereof has become worn results in anenormous waste of material, and naturally increases the expense in the upkeep of the shoe. lt has been proposed heretofore to provide l5 the heel with a removable tap which can be readily attached and detached when desired so as to replace the relatively small worn ortion without disturbing the unaiilected body of the heel. Previously known removable heels, however, have fallen short of commercial success due to important structural disadvantages, among-the most noticeable of which are complexity of` construction, inefficiency in use, and prohibitive expense of manufacture. l

A general object of this invention is to provide an improved heel of this removable type in which the disadvantages are men tioned.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of an improved heel having a tap which may be attached to and removed from the body of the heel by an unskilled person without requiring special tools or attaching means.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of a one-piece rubber heel tap which is retained rupon theheel by a locking pin entirely concealed within the body of the heel.

For a more complete understanding of this invention together with further objects and advantageous details and construction, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment in which:

Figure 1 is a section through the heel illustrating the removable tapin position thereon.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the heel with the tap removed.

Figure 3 is a perspective of the improved tap; and

Figure l is a perspective of the reinforcing member with which the tap may be equipped.

Referring more particularly to the 'drawings, 2 indicates a heel which may be of any' preferred size or design, the French type 'an upper portion 16.

shown being selected for illustrative purerposes only. Permanently secured to the bottom ofthe heel by means of -screws d is a metallic plate 6 which in size andlcontour G0 corresponds to the heel bottom.A The plate 6v l is formed with a "downwardly extendingfA peripheral wall 8, the latter being provided with an inturnediange 10 as lillustrated clearly in Figure 1. VThe wall 8 yand flange 65 10 extend completely around lthe heel-with i the exception of the front face whichis left-1. unobstructed. The bottom face of the heel plate, the side wall and thevinturned flange lform a seat or slideway for the reception `of a heel tap 12 hereinafter described in detail.

The heel tap 12 is preferably formed from a rubber compound which is used vin the ordinary rubber heels, although leather or similar material maybe used if desired. T5 'l1 beta-p is made in onek piece and consists of a relatively thick tread portionrlt and: The upper portiorrl is thinner and somewhatsmaller in diameter than the lower tread portion, and in general is of such dimensionsas to snugly lit within the seat formed on the heel plate. VThe tap. 1s provided with a peripheral groove 18 between the upper and lower portions thereof, the'groove being adapted to slidably receive the flange l() therein in a manner Clearly understood. Vhile it has been proved that a plain groove in the heel tap such as18, is ordinarily sufiicient, a channelledreinforcing member 20 may be embedded in the groove, if desired, in order to give additional rigidity to the heel tap, andby alording a metal to metal contact with the flange 1() facilitate the shoving of the heel tap into and out of position.

The interlocking connection between the tap and the heel plate afforded by the flange' and groove serves to retain the heel tap in position against upward, downward, side-l ward, and rearward thrust. lt will bek apparent, however, that in so far as the heel plate is concerned the tap is free toslide out f* of its seat by a forward movement upon the application of sufficient force. rlhe means for locking the heel tap against forward movement will now be described. rl`he heel body 2 is provided adjacent its bottom face with a recess or bore 22 within which is slidably mounted a locking pin 24. The locking pin consists of an enlarged head 26 which is preferably loaded or weighted, and a reduced: 2S; The

. i `mouth of the latter is l5*y shank of the locking pin is adapted to ein tend through an opening 30 formed in the heel plate beneath the bore 22, the opening 3() being smaller in diameter than the head of the locking pin, whereby the latter is prevent-ed from completely falling from the bore 22. The heel tap 12 is provided on its upper face With a bore or recess 32 which is adapted to register with the opening 30 in the heel plate and receive the shank of the locking pin when the tap is in a seated position. In order to facilitate the entrance of the Vlocking pin Within the tap bore, the slightly tapered as at 32.

The locking pin is retained Within the bore in the heel tap by gravity and serves to efectually lock the tap against deplacement from its seat during use. Then it is desired to remove the tap for replacement or to in terchange with the tap on the other slice, the heelis simply turned over, thereby cans` ing the locking pin to fall out of the bore in the heel tap. Being thus released, the tap maybe removed by sliding the same toward the front until the flange of the heel plate becomes disengaged fromv the groove 18 in the tap. Upon the insertion of a neiv tap.)

the shoe is turned back to normal position and the locking pin immediately falls into the bore 32 of the tap in the manner previously described.

In order to prevent the lower end of the locking pin from catching upon the edges of the opening in the heel platea the pin is constructed a trifle larger than the bore 22 in the heel so that' when the shoe is reversed to move the locking pin into releasing position. the lower end of the pin Will lie between the top and bottom face of the heel plate. Accordingly, the lower end of the locking pin in the position of release is entirely disconnected With the heel tap but never passes beyond the upper face of the heel plate.

It Will be noted that the improved heel tap disclosed consists of a minimum number of parts, which may be formed in a single molding operation. Vihcn the metallic reinforcing element is usedthe manufacture of the tap is not materially com licated asthe reinforcing element is simply placed in position and pressed yinto place during the molding of the tap.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new andv desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A heel tap having a'peripheral' groove in the side Wall thereof and a U-shaped metallic member embedded Within said groove.

2. A heel tap comprising a body portion of resilient material, the sides of said body being provided with a groove lying Wholly between the upper and: lower faces of 'the body, and a U-shaped metallic member embedded ivithin Vsaid groove.

In testimony whereof l my sign attire.' 

